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Archive for June, 2010

What’s with this relationship status stuff? And “looking for” stuff? Why do we have to be so neatly pigeonhole-able?

So, I lost my husband one year, three months and six days ago. Does that make a widow? Single? Mostly married, still, in my head?

I actually dislike the terms “single”. And “widowed”. They seem to imply a lack, a loss. (Although in my case, that is certainly true.) I prefer “on my own”, “independent”, or how about, “none of your business”.

We all need companionship, friends and loved ones to float down this great river of life with. Some are near and dear, some are casual, and some are here for a time and soon gone. There’s a time for everything, and to everything there is a season – even love we thought would last a lifetime.

I have amazing friends of both genders, here, in Anchorage, and across the country. They’ve lifted me up and kept me going, and have always been available to cheer with me and cry with me, and I have the privilege of doing the same for them.

So really, now that I think about it, when someone asks me what my relationship status is – or what I’m looking for – I think the very best answer I can give is “friend”.

Driving back and forth to eastern Washington, the Vantage wind farms are a striking landmark. Dozens of wind turbines march across the hills, capturing wind energy to sell to Puget Sound Electric and other utilities.

I realize these towers are huge, much bigger than our human sense of perspective registers. But how big? The blades are each 125′ long, and are connected to turbine towers that stand 280′ off the ground. From the base of the tower to the tip of the blades is a distance of 400′.

I also wondered how much power do they really generate? Turns out it’s quite a bit. Just one turbine can generate 1.5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 300-400 homes.

The Kittitas county wind projects alone are huge: the Wild Horse Wind & Solar Facility contains 149 turbines and can generate 273 megawatts of electricity, and the new Vantage Wind Energy Project adds another 60 turbines for an additional 90 megawatts.

Interestingly enough, the turbines start turning with wind speeds as low as 5-6 mph but shut down when winds exceed 50 mph to avoid damage.